Lindsey Sued By His Son In Abuse Case

David Lindsey Sr., still facing felony charges of sexually abusing his son, was accused of ``psychological murder`` by lawyers who filed a lawsuit on the teen-ager`s behalf on Thursday morning.

Lindsey`s son also sued the state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, claiming in Palm Beach County Circuit Court that the agency, in its child-protection role, was negligent in allowing him to live in Lindsey`s Boynton Beach home.

``We want to hold accountable the people who put (the teen) through the terror that he lived through,`` said attorney Elliot Shaw, who represents Lindsey`s son. ``It`s difficult enough to be a teen-ager, but to go through psychological murder as well?``

The lawsuit claims that the son, now 19, has attempted suicide numerous times, had been committed to mental institutions and suffered epileptic-like seizures -- all the result of seven years of sexual abuse by Lindsey.

Lindsey, once a Boynton Beach cabinetmaker, was among the first single men in Florida to open his home to foster children. He now lives in Ocala.

In June 1987, prosecutors charged him with sexually abusing two boys, including his son, after the latter described to church officials what was happening.

Two attempts at a plea bargain on the criminal charges have collapsed. The case is scheduled for trial on April 25.

``I`m not surprised at all that (Lindsey`s son) wants some financial benefit out of these allegations,`` said Richard Lubin, Lindsey`s attorney in the criminal charges.

The son`s attorneys did not specify how much compensation was due. That is a question for a jury, they said.

The lawsuit claims that Lindsey adopted his son in January 1980 while he was living in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom Boynton Beach home with 10 other boys under his care.

Shaw said those conditions should have been ``red flags`` to HRS and the Children`s Home Society of Florida, a state-licensed corporation that was responsible for placing the boy in Lindsey`s care.

The Children`s Home Society also is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

``They put the fox in charge of the henhouse,`` Shaw said. ``If they`re going to have the authority, they`re going to have to exercise it properly.``

Jean Price, statewide director of the Children`s Home Society in Jacksonville, said she was unaware of the lawsuit and declined to comment on the allegations. She said the society has never been the subject of such a lawsuit before.

Robert Williams, director of the HRS district that includes Palm Beach County, also declined to comment on the allegations. He would only say, ``There are a lot of factors that go into the placement of a child.``